Ceisteanna Parlaiminte

Road Tolls

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

192. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to the new HGV road levy which came into effect on 1 April 2014 in the UK and Northern Ireland; if his attention has been drawn to the impact that this levy will have on haulage companies and other HGV users; if he is aware that due to the very high road tax on HGV vehicles in Ireland and the new HGV road levy, that many companies are now moving to Northern Ireland and that this will result in a significant loss of revenue to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16902/14]

Legal Matters

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

51. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Taoiseach if he will provide in tabular form the number of judicial review cases issued in past four years handled by the Office of the Chief State Solicitor; the number of cases where the Office of the Chief State Solicitor directed the entity to assist affected members of the public obtain reasons for decisions by assisting or offering to assist them make a section 18 of the Freedom of Information Act application under obligations imposed on officials under Freedom of Information Regulations 519/1998 Act prior to proceedings being issued by the person and taking into account the injustice and the cost of legal proceedings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16157/14]

Legal Matters

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

52. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Taoiseach if he will provide in tabular form the number of judicial review cases issued in past four years handled by the Office of the Chief State Solicitor and the number of cases where the public entity assisted affected members of the public obtain reasons for decisions by assisting or offering to assist them make a section 18 of the Freedom of Information Act application under obligations imposed on officials under Freedom of Information Regulations 519/1998 Act prior to proceedings being issued by the person and taking the injustice and the cost of legal proceedings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16163/14]

Legal Matters

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

53. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Taoiseach if the Office of the Chief State Solicitor has with regard to the Prevention of Corruption Act a Code of guidance in place for its solicitors to disclose information to the Garda Síochána who are the proper authorities to investigate crime about public officials under section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011 who have improperly withheld information; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16164/14]

Legal Matters

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

54. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Taoiseach if the Chief State Solicitor is aware that the EU Commission state aid investigation C31/07 was told that Bus Éireann operated the school transport scheme under contract; if this is the case if he will ask the Chief State Solicitor the reason this information was not disclosed to the Garda Síochána by virtue of the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 19 of the Criminal Justice Act 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16165/14]

EU Issues

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

57. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Taoiseach the amount the Blue Star programme costs; the percentage of this cost borne by the Irish taxpayer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16270/14]

Departmental Correspondence

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

58. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Taoiseach if he will ensure that when a communication in relation to wrongdoing is received in his Department that the communication will be deemed to have come to his attention; if he will confirm that, while he is not expected to personally exercise the function of dealing with wrongdoing, he is responsible for ensuring that the function is exercised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16298/14]

Departmental Correspondence

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

73. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will ensure that when a communication in relation to wrongdoing is received in his Department that the communication will be deemed to have come to his attention; if he will confirm that, while he is not expected to personally exercise the function of dealing with wrongdoing, he is responsible for ensuring that the function is exercised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17105/14]

Central Bank of Ireland

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

99. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if the first bond has been sold yet by the Central Bank this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16222/14]

Central Bank of Ireland

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

100. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if the €3.06 billion bond to cover the 2012 promissory note has been sold yet; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16223/14]

State Debt

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

101. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance the amount of interest the €25 billion we borrowed to buy off the promissory notes is costing us this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16236/14]

State Debt

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

102. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance the amount of interest the €25 billion we borrowed to buy off the promissory notes cost us in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16237/14]

State Debt

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

103. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance as the new sovereign bonds from the €25 billion in bonds that were issued to the Central Bank on 8 February 2013 are sold off, the amount in interest projected to be paid on an annual basis, for as far into the future as those projections have been made, to the EU fund from which the €25 billion was borrowed and as coupon to the private investors who purchase those bonds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16238/14]

Central Bank of Ireland

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

104. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify what will happen to the €500 million that will be taken in by the Central Bank of Ireland when the first bond is sold this year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16239/14]

Central Bank of Ireland

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

105. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if he will clarify what will happen to the subsequent €24.5 billion taken in by the Central Bank of Ireland as the remaining bonds are sold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16240/14]

Ministerial Responsibilities

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

174. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if he will ensure that when a communication in relation to wrongdoing is received in his Department, it will be deemed to have come to his attention; if he will confirm that, while he is not expected personally to exercise the function of dealing with wrongdoing, he is responsible for ensuring the function is exercised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17104/14]

Information and Communications Technology

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

225. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 102 of 27 February 2014, the reason the professional development service for teachers is sanctioning the use and purchase of iPads by students, when a much cheaper and more useful tablet is available on which one can use Microsoft Office applications and study for ECDL and many other computer courses, unlike the iPad, which is not compatible with the most common applications such as Word and Excel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16652/14]

Information and Communications Technology

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

226. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 140 of 11 March 2014, when teachers can choose a tablet such as the Microsoft Surface 2 which is, compatible with Microsoft Office applications such as, Word, Excel and Powerpoint, can be used for ECDL examination preparation and training for teachers and students and can be used for learning of visual basic, C sharp and C++ programming and SQL database language, but instead, the teachers choose a toy fashion accessory, the Apple iPad, at twice the cost to parents, and which cannot be used for any of the aforementioned learning, is the Professional Development Service for Teachers (Technology in Education) completely neutral in respect of this damaging choice by teachers; his views that this is a damaging decision and one on which he will take immediate action to rectify and in order to prevent further damage to the prospects and opportunities of our students and in order to minimise expense to parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16653/14]

School Textbooks

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

227. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the date of the decision to use workbooks in national primary schools; the persons involved in this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16654/14]

School Textbooks

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

229. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 141 of 11 March 2014, regarding decisions on the use of workbooks, in his answer on the use of textbooks, quotes what he calls, The Guidelines that accompany the Primary School Curriculum, 1999, which state that it should be noted that textbooks, of their very nature, cannot adequately cover local history studies and should therefore be regarded as only one source among many for the teaching of history; the resource that students will rely on for their learning of local history, bearing in mind that most history teachers are not natives of the places in which they teach; with this new emphasis on local history, if the cutback in other history teaching will be that of national or European history or will there be an increase in the hours spent teaching history; with the new emphasis on local history, his views that, for example, Roscommon or Sligo people would be less interested in Humbert’s arrival in Killala than Mayo people, or that Dublin people would have no interest in the Battle of the Boyne; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16657/14]